Larrey’s flying hospital
BMJ 2008; 337 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.a2231 (Published 21 October 2008) Cite this as: BMJ 2008;337:a2231
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Tony Delamothe appears unaware that Israeli hospitals employ Arabs or
Jews simply by virtue of their qualification, just as they treat Arabs or
Jews simply by virtue of their needs. An example of the former is the
Afula hospital see www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/328/7434/295 and
undoubtedly there are many more.
Similarly the latter case is described by the BMJ, see
http://careers.bmj.com/careers/advice/view-article.html?id=2620
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
By the time of the French revolution of the "3 glorieuses" in
1830, Larrey was a retired surgeon in a Parisian hospital. Faced with the
revolutionaries' demands, he refused to give
up the wounded soldiers of the Garde Royale in his care, proclaiming :
"They are my patients, and my duty is to protect
them, and yours is to respect yourselves by respecting these
unfortunates." Impressed, the revolutionaries left the hospital, sparing
the wounded.
Larrey is an example of someone for whom there is no black or white,
no Israeli or Palestinian, no rich or
poor, no good or bad people, but only patients and suffering people who
need to be cared for with respect and love. For doctors, he provides a
model of ethical behaviour.
I've written more about this in my blog:
http://julienbezolles.blogspot.com/2008/07/ca-commence-comme.html
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Prescription for Peace
Aesop’s fable “Androcles and the Lion” tells the story of Androcles, who
removed a thorn from a lion’s paw, and was subsequently rescued by the very
same lion. The moral of this story is that kindness can sometimes turn a
dangerous enemy into a great friend. So let’s not be too quick to hate our
enemies. Instead, let’s treat our enemies as potential friends, by demonstrating
kindness and compassion. It’s more humane to cure your enemies than to kill
them.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests